LOCAL FLU CASES DOUBLE IN A WEEK, COUNTY SAYS

Many pharmacies say they are out of vaccine doses

“It certainly has been worse in other flu seasons. In 2002-03, we saw a rate of 28 percent,” Wooten said.

This year, unlike last year, one particular flu strain, named H3N2, is dominant locally and nationally.

Dr. Michael Jhung, a medical officer in the CDC’s influenza division, said that, unlike H1N1 and Influenza B, the two other main strains active in the U.S., variants of H3N2, like the one active this year, are known to cause more severe symptoms and are more likely to cause or lead to pneumonia, a major cause of hospitalizations, especially in the elderly and very young.

In San Diego County, 72.9 percent of confirmed cases have been H3N2, according to the latest report.

Both Jhung and Wooten noted that the current flu vaccination, which inoculates recipients from H1N1, H3N2 and Influenza B, is effective in deflecting the virus.

“We are confident and know very well that all of the circulating strains are well matched to the vaccination,” Wooten said.